LIU Pharmacy’s Fernando Gonzalez Featured in Reader’s Digest

Reader’s Digest—the largest paid circulation magazine in the world—certainly came up with the right prescription by asking Fernando Gonzalez to share his professional knowledge in a recent informative article called “15 Things Your Pharmacist Wishes You Knew.” As the 10.5-million circulation periodical told its readership, “Read on for advice that could potentially save your life.”

Gonzalez, RPhI, is an assistant professor in the pharmaceutical sciences division at the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (LIU Pharmacy). As the director of Pharmacy Practice at LIU Pharmacy, he shared a host of recommendations that readers would find worthwhile.

For instance, customers waiting on line at the drug store may not want to hear it but Gonzalez insists that they don’t rush it.

“Patients should realize that rushing a prescription is like telling a pilot not to check the landing gear before takeoff,” Gonzalez said, pointing out that the pharmacist has many important functions to perform from ensuring the customer gets the right drug and dosage, to bringing them up to speed on what their health insurance plans do—and do not—cover.

Equally important, Gonzalez urges customers to check their medications closely before they leave the store.

“Look at the vial to check the name of the patient, the drug, the doctor and the directions,” he said. “Patients need to talk to the intern or pharmacist, not the cashier, to get these answers.”

And, fortunately for students at LIU Pharmacy, when it comes to educating the next generation of pharmacists, Fernando Gonzalez offers the right instructions, too.